| Police stakeout
September 2, 2004 Jurors heard about the trailing activities of Modesto police on Wednesday morning, as undercover officer Alexander Bettis described his four days of Scott Peterson surveillance duty. Scott Peterson led police on a high-speed chase after reading articles in a local paper about searches for his missing wife Laci in San Francisco Bay and in nearby reservoirs, Officer Bettis testified in the double-murder trial Wednesday. On Jan. 3, 2003, police set up a pole camera trained on Peterson's home, returned his green Land Rover that was seized during a search warrant, and set up a 15-man team to survey his activity. According to Bettis, every morning at about 7:30 a.m., Peterson left his home to go to the command post where volunteers met to collect fliers and help search for Laci Peterson. Bettis said that up to five or six officers trailed Peterson at any one time. On Jan. 5, 2003, 12 days after Peterson's pregnant wife disappeared, Bettis testified that he followed Peterson to several churches where the defendant handed out fliers. The former fertilizer salesman went home, changed his clothes in the afternoon. At 1:10 p.m., Peterson headed west toward Berkeley Marina in a gray Subaru at speeds of 85 to 90 mph. "Were you having any problems keeping up with him?" prosecutor Rick Distaso asked. "Yes, sir," Bettis said. "Why is that?" Distaso said. "Because he was driving very fast," the detective said. Bettis said Peterson drove about 85 to 90 mph on the freeway, and his back-up team lost sight of the defendant briefly, but finally saw him at the marina parking lot. Peterson stayed in the area for about five minutes, but did not get out of his car or talk to anyone. The next day, Peterson rented a red Honda civic from Enterprise and again drove to the marina, this time at 80 mph, said the officer. He parked for about two minutes, then moved to another area. The officer, further testified that, on this visit, about 10 minutes later,Peterson actually was driving behind his unmarked police car. The officer could see his target in his rearview mirror. "It was kind of a cat-and-mouse type tag," Bettis testified, "I was trying to keep an eye on him." "I wasn't sure if he was following me," Bettis said. The agents lost radio communication with each other and briefly lost Peterson, until about 5:30 p.m. when they picked up his trail again back at the car rental office, where Peterson dropped off the Honda and drove his Land Rover home. A witness from Enterprise has testified that Peterson rented seven cars over several days. The state seemed to suggest Peterson was trying to lose police. During cross-examination, Geragos rehashed the officer's testimony about the pole-cam, which was set up because heavy media interest in front of Peterson's house made it difficult for police to monitor. Geragos argued that Peterson's cloak-and-dagger activity was simply an attempt to avoid media scrutiny. Geragos also suggested that Bettis — who sported scruffy facial hair — may have appeared to Peterson like one of the drug dealers the undercover agent usually follows. HOME INDEX LACI SCOTT TRIAL ALIBI-WITNESS LIST WIRETAPS AUTOPSY LACI'S ALBUM ROCHA FAMILY MODESTO PD CEMENT |
| LACI & CONNER MAY JUSTICE PREVAIL |
| SCOTT'S BOOKING PHOTO INTO REDWOOD CITY JAIL |
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